George pirnie



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

G. PIRNIE.

WHIP.

110.419,13). Patented Jan. 7,1890.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE PIRNIE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

WHIP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 419,130, dated January'7, 1890.

I Application led February l1, 1889. Serial No. 299,522. (No model.)

To all whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE PIRNIE, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city, county, and State of New York, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in YVhips; and -I do hereby declarethat the following is a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to carriage-whips and other whips having a coveredstock, which may all be classed together as covered whips. The body of acovered whip is usually made up of a core or center with an inner liningor covering of skin or cloth wrapped or wound around the core and withan external woven or plaited covering. The lower part of the core isusually re-enforced or stocked in with strips of rattan appliedlongitudinally. The tip of the whip is usually finished off with a loop,in which the snap or snapper is fastened.

My invention relates to an improved means of fastening the snap to thebody of the whip and of strengthening the snap itself. The snap issimply a silk or cotton cord of suitable length and thickness knotted atone end. The unknotted end is sometimes finished with a loop, and thesnap is then fastened by knotting the loop of the snap with the loop onthe end of the whip-stock. The more common mode, however, `of fasteningthe snap is to have its unknotted end finished as aplain cord and thento pass this end through the loop on the whip-stock, doubling the endback on the snap, and then braiding the two portions of the snap in withthe free ends of an additional thread or cord, the middle of which isfastened to and about the loop on the stock and outside of the outerplaited covering. The ends in the braid are then secured in somesuitable manner.

Both the above methods of fastening the snap are objectionable, becausethe loop on the end of the whip-stock is liable to break from the straincaused by a blow on the harness or by the oft-repeated cracking of thewhip. The breaking of the loop practically spoils the whip, as it is adifficult matter for an ordinary harness-maker to repair a broken loop.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved means for fasteningthe snap to the body of the whip, which by reducing the stra-in on theloop will prevent the loop from breaking, and will increase thedurability of the whip generally, besides adding other desirablequalities.

My invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, which are herebymade a part of this specification, and in which similar letters refer tosimilar parts.

VFigure l represents the tip of a covered whip. II is the core orcenter'. B is an inner covering or lining of skin, cloth, or othersuitable material. Ais an outer woven or plaited covering. O is theloop. Fig. 2 represents the tip of a whip with asnapper attached by mymethod. F is the snap, and G is the unknotted end of the snap, which ispassed through the loop, doubled back, and braided in. Fig. 3 representsthe tip and snapper with the fastening completed and the ends secured.Figs. e and 5 represent modied forms of my invention. Fig. 6 representsa form of my invent-ion in which only one strip E is' used. y In itspreferred form I carry out my invention as follows: In whips in whichthe lining or'inner covering B of the whip extends to the extremity ofthe whip-stock below the loop C, I allow one or more narrow strips E Eof the material of which the lining B is composed to project severalinches beyond the end, said strips E E being continuous with the liningB. The lining B being usually wound or wrapped in a ribbon about thecenter Il, the free end of the ribbon of lining need onlybe slit downits middle and the two parts will serve as the narrow strips E E or partof the end of the ribbon of lining may.

IOO

pose for which the strips E E are intended, I lay one or more strips E Eof suitably tough material along the end of the stock for a distance ofseveral inches before plaiting, and then, plaiting on the covering Aover the strips, I allow the ends of the strips to project as before atEE. (See Fig. 4.) What I say hereinafter about the strips E E appliesequally to the strips E E', but I will, for convenience, speak only ofstrips E E. I now pass the unknotted end G of the snapper F through theloop C and double it back V on the snapper Fin the usual Way. Then thestrips'E E, first being wet, if of skin, are braided together with thesnapper F and its end G, as shown in Fig. 2, fastened in any suitableway, as at J. (See Fig. 3.) Before braiding` in the strips E E, I preferto iie one of the strips E about the other strip E, the snap F and theend G just above the loop C forming the knot K, and I tie a similar knotafter the braiding at K.

In the braiding I may leave the braided;v portions of the strips E Eslightly shorter than the braided portions of the snap. This willrequire some care if the strips E E be of cloth or other fibrousmaterial. If, howeveig; the strips E E be of skin, no attention needQjbe paid to the length in the braiding, for thei strips, being` wetbefore braiding, will shrink@ slightly upon drying, and thus become atriiie shorter than the cord of the snap. ject of this shortening is torelieve the straim on the loop C. If the strips E E be knotted,`v as inFig. 2, and be shortened, as just eX- plained, the strain may be made tobear first; on the knot K', then on the knot K, and then@ on' the loopC, and iinally on the junctions of,` the strips E E with the covering A;or the relative lengths of the strips E E and of the; braided portionsof the snap may be so adjusted as to distribute the strain equally all';the way from the knot K to the loop C and beyond it to the junctionsaforesaid. In practice I shall generally use eel-skin; for the strips EE and E E. In Letters Pat-` ent of the United States No. 375,950,granted tome January', 1888, I have given a full de-y scription of thequalities of eel-skin and the met-hod of preparing it for use, and Iherebyv refer to said letters for such description. The qualitiestherein mentioned make eel-skin far the best material for the purposesof my present invention. It is so thin andV so pliable when wet as to beeasily braided with the snap. Its shrinkageis so great that the strips EE, if made of eel-skin and braided in while wet, Will on drying shorterthan the braided portions of the snap.

It needs no tanning or other preparation, and its toughness isextraordinary. Vhen the snap is fastened with eel-'skin vstrips E E,braided and knotted in the manner described, itis almost impossible tobreak the loop C or to break the snap F from the Whip in any way, unlessthe snap F itself wear out, and that, as I shall show, is a mattereasily remeand the loose ends' The ob-;

become perceptibly died. I have thus accomplished the muchsought-forobject of making a whip with a snap, in which the loop C cannot breakwith any amount of ordinary use. The great value of this invention willreadily be perceived by any horseman. It is Well known among whipmakersthat nothing is more needed in the manufacture of whips than somesatisfactory means of re-enforcing the loop C. My invention furnishessuch-a means.

Should the snap itself break-say above the knot K-or if the meansemployed for fastening the loose ends of the strips E E and portions ofthe snap at .I become unfastened, it is a very simple matter -to unbraidthe strips and snap, put in a new snap if needed, and ,braid the wholeup again, the loop Gand the strips E E being uninjured. Thus not onlyhave we a stronger fastening for the snap, but one easily repaired. f

An additional use of the method of fastening I have described is tostiften the snap, so

that it will stand straighter and droopr over less. This is also a'point which has been sought forin the manufacture of whips. Anysoftening from dampness may be prevented by varnishing the parts afterbraiding.

I do not Wish to limit myself to the methods described either forholding the strips E E and E E along r about thestockor for fasteningthem to the snap F. Thestrips may be twisted about the snap or braidedWithout knotting or fastened in some other manner. They may be Woundspirally around the end of the stock instead of being appliedlongitudinally. It is obvious that but one strip E or E', as shown inFig. 6, may be employed. I do not limit myself to anypartic ular numberof strips, but have shown two for` convenience.` I Wish, indeed, tocover every method and all cases in which one or more` strips of ,anySuitable material, either lcontinuous with the lining B or applied tothe upper endof the whip-stock, are attached securely to the; stockunder Athe plaited cover and below the; loop 0,-and are then carriedoutside of andabove thevloop C and securely attached to the` snap F,whereby the loop C is re-enforcedl and the strain thereon is reduced. Asimilarrdevice could be employed for strengthening the fasteningoflashes to whips. v

Any proper material for a center may be employed with my invention, andany de sired form of snap suitable forbraiding. I may also dispensealtogetherpwith the silk or cotton snap by employing three or more ofthe strips E .E of suitable length and Width, rolling them intov cord`shape, and braiding them tightly together, so as to forin the snapentirely of the strips The iinishing of the Whip in all its parts may beas usual. ,v i

I-Iaving described r my invention, `what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States, is

l. A whip provided with improved means IOO IIO

of fastening for the whip-snap,'said means whip-lining is composed,which strips, being continuous with the lining, project through theplaited covering below the loop C, extend beyond the said loop, and aresecurely attached to the whip-snap, whereby the said loop is re-enforcedand the strain thereon reduced, substantially as shown and described, 2o

and for the purposes set forth.

GEORGE PIRNIE. In presence of- F. L. CRAWFORD, JOSEPH K. BRICK.

